Selected Plays and Libretti

If you want to see Hofmannsthal at his most ambitious, this collection gathers the major plays and opera libretti in Michael Hamburger’s translations. It includes Electra, The Salzburg Great Theatre of the World, The Difficult Man, The Tower, and the famous libretti for Strauss operas like The Cavalier of the Rose and Arabella.

Why Consider This One

Hofmannsthal’s plays range from early symbolist verse dramas to sophisticated comedies and grand philosophical allegories. The Tower, his late masterwork, is a dark political fable that has only grown more relevant. The Difficult Man is a comedy of manners that rivals anything in the European tradition. For readers who come to Hofmannsthal through his prose and want the full picture, this is the definitive collection. It is long, but individual plays can be read on their own.